This is a message I wrote on the Cog-Grads list. To be expanded in a better discussion of fast complex cognitive processing like temporal and conceptual binding.

On Wed, 27 March 2002, "Radu Luchianov" wrote:

Again, it may not be my place to comment on this; I met the Penrose's microtubuli theory during my course on Consciousness at NBU and I didn't research much the topic. It's on my ToDo list, together with the rest of quantum computation. They're also shooting for cognitive coherent non-determinism, as I do, but, as far as I could dig, they go a little too far on the assumptions.

Personally I see it as far-fetched as the 40Hz resonance theory (which can't be the correct causal direction due to the low EM fields generated by APs and to the poor inductive qualities of biological structures).

Back to Orch OR. The scale of the tubuli (tens of micrometers), is too large to be affected by any quantum phenomena. The medium is too noisy for the coherence needed to make the energy jump several scales of magnitude higher. And so on...

But. Assuming all that theory is valid, the idea behind orchestrated objective reduction (Orch OR), is that specific proteins in the neurons are configured to "pierce" space-time "sheets", allowing for reversed causal processes (the effect leads to the cause). There you have your basic mini-time-machine :) for 10-500ms.

Related: In my youth :), that is before I understood the inductive characteristics of metals which allow for reception of EM oscillations, I wrote a short story on the topic of telepathic ESP acting as a self-amplified radio station. I had some trouble even then explaining other forms of ESP phenomena, like psychokinesis...